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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27244600">Misinterpretation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spark_Stark/pseuds/Spark_Stark'>Spark_Stark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bisexual Aaron Hotchner, Bisexual Spencer Reid, Boys Being Boys, Cute Ending, Declarations Of Love, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Break Up, Sad, Spencer Being Salty, Talking, they don't do it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27244600</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spark_Stark/pseuds/Spark_Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Spencer deals with the break up in a very Spencer Reid way, Aaron does everything to get him back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>173</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Misinterpretation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two rounds in and there was a hasty knock at the door. The girls turned to each other. They weren’t expecting visitors tonight, planned on having the evening to themselves. Reluctance passed and turned to pleasant surprise when the three women heard the voice on the other side of the door speak out. “It’s Spencer,” The voice called. Not a case, thank god.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Although they weren’t expecting him, he was welcomed in with open arms. “I know its girls night,” He said as Garcia handed him a margarita that seemed to appear out of thin air. “But I need to get drunk and talk about boys.” The trio giggled and guided him to the brightly coloured couch of Penelope’s apartment. He had a standing invitation to girl’s night.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Friendly faces surrounded him. It was Emily who filled him in on what he had missed in the hours previous to his arrival. Surprisingly more sober than the genius expected her to be after two margaritas. The others were slightly more on the tipsy side, FBI training be damned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not comfortable sharing his troubles just yet, Spencer was content to listen as JJ continued a story she was telling before he came. A man who had the indecency to continue to hit on her after she told him, many times, she had a boyfriend. He only stopped when she pulled out her badge. Spencer drank quickly and quietly until he was caught up. “My boyfriend broke up with me.” He admitted at Penelope’s badgering, some forty minutes later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Boyfriend?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Broke up?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The girls’ chatter was immediate and overcoming. He was regretting it now. They sensed it and slowed down, allowed him to explain. “I don’t even know why-“ Spencer’s slim frame wasn’t as adept to alcohol as others. He swayed on the couch. Only for the alcohol would he have been comfortable sharing this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Penelope squeezed him around the shoulders which inspired the other two women to embrace him tightly afterward. They comforted him without a second thought. “How long were you dating?” JJ asked him softly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Five and a half months.” Not timed down to the second, he was really upset. The admission was once again met with a round of shock. Profilers, how had they missed it? (Plus Garcia’s nosey-but-well-meaning habits.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emily, less of the sensitive sort, was first to break the odd silence. “Well, you certainly kept that quiet.” It may have seemed rude, but her tone was gentle. Knowing Spencer didn’t like ‘and how does that make you feel?’ type questions. He came here for friends, not therapists. Jeering and sarcasm were expected and welcomed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The youngest of the four sipped his drink and shrugged. “He didn’t want to tell anyone.” The upset was obvious, but there was more to his voice than just that. An undertone of something… annoyance?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“His loss anyways,” Garcia announced, decidedly firm. “If I had a Spencer Reid, I’d tell the whole world.” He giggled despite himself. Maybe it was the alcohol. Not that it mattered much, he came here for cheering up, that was Penelope’s specialty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>JJ made him feel more comfortable by sharing a break up story of her own with the group. It was this silent compassion that he loved the most from her. “But the sex was so good,” He inputted solemnly sometime later into the night.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll drink to that.” Emily replied, a sad look in her eyes as she met Spencer’s gaze. The other two women nodded in agreement and lifted their glasses. They had tomorrow off anyways.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Monday came all too fast for Spencer. He contemplated calling in sick but decided against it. No point in delaying the inevitable, the voice in his mind told him (which sounded suspiciously like his mother). The morning was a blur; wake, stretch, shower, coffee, metro, work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emily slid a granola bar across the round table. “You look like shit.” She said in her usual affectionate tone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I feel like it too.” Spencer muttered as he pocketed the bar, hearing the other agents make their way up to the briefing room. That was the most emotion he let himself express.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer only ever checked his email sporadically. Luck be ever against him, his unit chief had emailed him on the rare occasion he opened the internet browser. Blocking his number had done little effect. He didn’t open it, only read the subject line. ‘Can we talk?’ No, sir. We cannot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At half past one he raised his head from the files beneath him. A headache was settling in. In the break room, the coffee pot was just that bit too cold to drink without re-brewing it. But Spencer hated the electronic whirr of it. Compromised with a bottle of water and the granola bar in his jacket pocket.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back at his desk, Hotch was standing over it. Holding two cups of coffee. Spencer tried to keep his face carefully neutral. “Peace offering?” He asked quietly and held out one of the large Starbucks cups. He could smell the sweet coffee scent from four feet away; his go-to order when a headache was fast approaching. Curse Aaron’s thoughtfulness. Too little too late. “Please, Spence.”  He whispered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A bold move for somebody who wanted to keep their relationship so exhaustingly private.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck off.” The doctor responded uncharacteristically. However, Hotch didn’t seem surprised by such, only resigned. He left the cup on Spencer’s desk and retreated to his own office. Not wanting to make a scene. Didn’t want anybody to know. Some things never change.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer didn’t touch it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It grew cold.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the day drew to a close, Spencer left the building at a modest time. He threw the cup in the trash on his way out. Hotch watched on from his office window.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer went to work on Tuesday as an act of defiance. <em>He wants you to call in sick, he wants to know he’s won. </em>Well, he hasn’t. To top it off, he stopped at the Starbucks at the station and sauntered in with a large cup. He didn’t have to say ‘fuck you’ for him to get his point across this time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was handling this well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A routine consultation came in that required the whole team’s opinions. They gathered in the briefing room. JJ flicked through photos on the television screen. Overkill, personal connection to the victim, unlikely to repeat an offense. “A woman did this.” Morgan stated, to the team’s agreement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emily pointed at the screen with her pen. “What could he have done to provoke this?” Multiple stab wounds, deep but exact.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Maybe he told her their relationship was a waste of time.” Hotch’s reaction was immediate, the clenching on his fists and squaring of his jaw. Spencer didn’t even glance his way. Acted as if he had just commented on the weather outside.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hotch cleared his throat. “More likely to be a <em>misinterpretation</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer chuckled humourlessly. “Yeah, I bet it was.” He rolled his eyes dramatically and stood and left without another word. That was bold. Nobody dared follow him. Hotch was next to leave, excusing himself a few moments later. The door frame shook as he shut it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Only then did Emily lean over to JJ beside her. “What was that about?” She asked. JJ could only shrug in equal confusion. “Maybe he’s just projecting his anger from the break up onto the nearest thing.” She theorised.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah,” JJ agreed. It seemed logical. Spencer had never learned how to deal with his emotions in an appropriate and non-destructive manner. A terrible downfall for a person so inherently good, he didn’t deserve it. “It’s unfortunate Hotch happened to be that thing.” She said empathetically.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emily shrugged. “I’m sure he profiled it.” Unintentionally, of course.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>They thought no more of it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Until they were awoken from shouting in the room next to them. Damned hotel wall, thin as paper. It was three weeks later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It started as a conversation that neither of the two agents could make out. They glanced at each other through the darkness of the shared room in apprehension. “Is that us?” JJ asked. They weren’t certain who was in the room next to them, it could be a team member. It could also be a complete stranger.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something akin to quietness overcame the room. And then a thump.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aaron, I will file a sexual harassment complaint against you-“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They looked at each other and sprung out of bed. They hadn’t yet registered that Aaron was referring to their unit chief. Hearing what could well escalate into a sexual assault didn’t leave time to form a hypothesis. JJ grabbed her badge and gun as Emily did the same.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pounding heavily and insistently against the door, the altercation ceased on the other side. The door opened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hotch?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Has something happened?” He eyes their guns and half-dressed forms. Hotch was still fully dressed, albeit a little dishevelled by the long day. His shirt was creased from where it had been pulled out from his trousers and his tie was loosened a miniscule.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They stood, speechless. Had they misheard? Maybe it was the room across from them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer pushed past Aaron and out the door. He walked down the hallway. It seemed he had a destination in mind, but he didn’t. That was his room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emily almost missed it. The shaking in his lithe frame and red rimmed eyes. She gave Hotch one look over and nudged JJ beside her. She spun on her heel and took off after her friend. Emily stayed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The unit chief stayed strong and tall, blocking the entrance to the room. “What are you doing here?” His voice was less alarmed than previously. Although it held a defensive tone to it. Emily put the safety back on her gun and lowered it down to her side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We heard noises on the other side of the wall.” She answered cautiously. Connected Hotch on front of her to Aaron from the room next door. “You and Spencer weren’t down to share a room.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no question, no allegations. A simple statement. But it held so much weight. Maybe she didn’t know everything, but if Hotch didn’t tell her the truth right now, she could start making dangerous guesses. Maybe she had misheard what was being said from the other side of the wall, but…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I have to make a call, please excuse me.” Hotch pushed passed her. She was so startled that she didn’t react until it was too late. He moved quickly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>JJ sent her a short text telling her that she would be spending the night in Spencer’s room. Emily went back to bed to catch what she hoped would be a few hours’ sleep. With such thoughts, she never shut her eyes. JJ came back to the room an hour later, she was no less confused as Emily. They hadn’t gotten answers tonight, they probably never will. Spencer was adamant that the girls had simply misheard the conversation – not argument – and that everything was fine. They were just talking about the case, that was all.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>It was mid-morning when they took off back to Quantico. As happy an ending they could have wished for, JJ, Emily, Morgan and Rossi settled into a game of poker. They collectively pretended not to notice the heated discussion that Hotch and Reid seemed to be having over the other side of the small cabin. JJ and Emily took turns glancing over to make sure everything was okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reid ignored them, Hotch couldn’t see. They were half way through their third game when JJ noticed the glint of tears in Spencer’s eyes. “I won’t be your dirty little secret again, Aaron.” His voice cracked and made Spencer sound even more broken than he felt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I never thought of you like that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But I did. And you did nothing about it-“ Spencer stopped when he was Aaron push himself up from the seat. “Aaron, where are you going?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The unit chief stood up, “Excuse me, guys.” He said to the group. They turned to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer’s eyes widened as he realised what Hotch was about to do. “Aaron, sit down.” He hissed, but Aaron held a hand up to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m making things right.” He responded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The team gave him puzzling looks. “What is it, Hotch?” Morgan asked, shifting in his seat and putting his cards down on the table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned back toward the four profilers and clasped his hands together. “I’m in love with Spencer. And I have been for almost a year.” He didn’t stop to spare their reactions. He was going to say it all, get it off his chest. It was what Spencer deserved. “I told him six months ago. Since then, I’ve been the happiest I’ve been in a long time. But I messed it up. I wouldn’t agree to tell you because I was scared of what you would think of me. I have never had a positive coming out experience. I am sorry for assuming the worst in the best people I know, and-“ He turned back to Spencer. “I’m sorry for treating you like I did. You are the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and you deserve somebody who isn’t too proud to admit that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tears were rolling down Spencer’s face without care. “Aaron,” He spoke through his tears. Hotch stepped toward him and let Spencer pull him into a kiss. “Why did you?” He lost his words as he looked into Aaron’s eyes which were shining with unshed tears.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s what you deserved.” He said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spencer shook his head. “I was selfish, I’m sorry.” The team watched them in silence, but none of that mattered to Spencer. “I never wanted us to fight over this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Aaron wiped the tear from Spencer’s cheeks. “I was selfish too.” He admitted. They stared at one another, Spencer kissed him again and Aaron smiled. “Are we okay?” He asked quietly. Spencer nodded. The older man could read the pleading in his eyes; please never break up with me again. He hoped his eyes said the same.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That was… nice.” Rossi said, drawing the two men away from each other and back to the present moment. Hotch, the team noticed, didn’t seem embarrassed by the public display of such a private moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A little bit dramatic,” Emily commented, joining onto the humour Rossi had started. “An e-mail would have been fine.” Spencer chuckled and blinked away the rest of his tears. Although JJ and Derek hadn’t yet said anything, they would be okay with it. He knew they would be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hotch sat back down, this time beside rather than across from Spencer, and let the other man link their hands together. Reid caught the small upturn of Morgan’s lips. “Well, it is my god given bisexual right to be dramatic.” Hotch said. The six of them laughed together</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When JJ spoke finally, Spencer and Aaron felt like they had the validation that they needed. “Garcia will be so upset that she missed this.”</p>
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